OT: DetNews article on Pistons' Killian Hayes, John Beilein

Submitted by Dilla Dude on July 27th, 2021 at 1:25 PM

Pistons player development director John Beilein has been putting in work since coming aboard, most notably with Pistons point guard Killian Hayes.

Hayes, the seventh pick in the 2020 draft, averaged 6.8 points and 5.3 assists in an injury-shortened season that saw him play in just 26 games. He shot 28 percent from 3-point range.

"Coach Beilein is the one who put in all the shooting drills so he's real big on shooting fundamentals, footwork, even simple things like passing. I know I can pass the ball, but it's just going back to the roots and working on fundamentals," Hayes said. "The coaches put us through different drills so we got five minutes shooting to try and get 85 shots up, get above, 60 or 70 percent, and we've got a whole bunch of shooting drills, a lot of competitive stuff so just keeps us going."

Link

 

bfeeavveerr

July 27th, 2021 at 1:31 PM ^

Beilein can teach and coach the game of basketball. Glad he is doing it for a team I root for to have success.

JMo

July 27th, 2021 at 4:59 PM ^

I think history tells this story pretty clearly. The apparently amazing talent on that Cleveland team who were simply just too good to be coached... guys like Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, Drummond, Sexton, Nance, etc who were all so quick to throw Beilein under the bus and blame his coaching for their issues, have done literally nothing since his departure as well. 

But hey, Beilein tried to name drills after polar bears and shit. How dare he? Keep cashin' those checks Tristan.

Gree4

July 27th, 2021 at 1:33 PM ^

We have seen what he has done with some under the radar guys. Buy-In and Beilein might make you a lot of money in your career. 

JMK

July 27th, 2021 at 2:01 PM ^

Thought I read that the Cavs players soured on Beilein in part because of his drills, which they found to be too remedial. If so, I thought this was a strange job for him to take and wonder how long the Pistons players will have patience for drills like this. Maybe I am misremembering. 

Fishbulb

July 27th, 2021 at 2:06 PM ^

I know—that version of the Cavs were proven winners and those drills were beneath them. /s

I think a difference is he’s not the HC in Detroit and he’s working on specific targets. Also, you’re shooting 28% on 3’s—I don’t think you can reasonably defend NOT getting the extra work. 

UMinSF

July 27th, 2021 at 3:09 PM ^

When Beilein was hired in Cleveland it seemed to make sense - a young team with lousy fundamentals/chemistry would benefit from a teacher/developer like Beilein.

Unfortunately, instead of embracing him, they pushed back and tuned him out. Reminded me of Kawhi in San Antonio. I think the same thing was happening in Boston - guys stopped buying what Stevens was selling. LeBron's gotten a bunch of coaches fired.

Regarding Kevin Love, I agree he'd be a challenge. He's an aging, good-not-great player who seems to be a bit of a character. Important to note he's also struggled with mental health issues, shouldn't minimize that.

NBA players have a ton of power, and there are only a very few coaches who seem able to make a positive difference and hold players' respect (Spoelstra, Kerr, Nurse, Doc, maybe Ty Lue and Snyder).

Increasingly, it seems those coaches are younger, often former players or at least with backgrounds/life experiences more closely aligned with players. There are exceptions, of course, but increasingly it feels like hiring an older white guy just doesn't work anymore (Van Gundy, Clifford, Stotts). Even Pop seems to be struggling to work with the olympians.

I think being an NBA coach these days is a tough gig. Guys join the league so young, and many have been coddled and pampered since they were kids. AAU ball isn't really about fundamentals and training, more like And 1 games where stars try to outshine each other.

OTOH, I think there's still guys who want to be coached and taught - what didn't work in Cleveland may very well work in Detroit. Let's hope so.

 

 

yorbacus

July 27th, 2021 at 4:11 PM ^

"Look, I'm not dealing with just 12 men out there,'' Daly once said of the psychological requirements of coaching in the NBA. "I'm dealing with 12 corporations. Every guy is the head of his own major corporation. The player makes a million a year. Consequently, you're dealing with the president of his own company. Each day. Every day."

Players are making a little more than a mil a year now too.

 

https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/players.html

TheCool

July 27th, 2021 at 2:31 PM ^

I'm saving my money for NBA Finals tickets right now. 3 years!

Seriously though I think the Pistons are on the right track with the last draft and having plenty of picks this year including obviously the #1 pick. 

They'll probably be fun to watch this year and competitive a year or 2 after depending on free agency. 

Rich Hokebaugh

July 27th, 2021 at 2:48 PM ^

One shot every 3.5 seconds for 5 minutes straight.  That's similar to Kobayashi's hot dog eating pace.